Aircraft typically include a plurality of flight control surfaces that, when controllably positioned, guide the movement of the aircraft from one destination to another. The number and type of flight control surfaces included in an aircraft may vary, but typically include both primary flight control surfaces and secondary flight control surfaces. The primary flight control surfaces are those that are used to control aircraft movement in the pitch, yaw, and roll axes, and the secondary flight control surfaces are those that are used to influence the lift or drag (or both) of the aircraft. Although some aircraft may include additional control surfaces, the primary flight control surfaces typically include a pair of elevators, a rudder, and a pair of ailerons, and the secondary flight control surfaces typically include a plurality of flaps, slats, and spoilers.
Modern aircraft have horizontal stabilizers located at the tail section of the fuselage or the rudder section that are pivotally supported relative to the airplane fuselage to “trim” the aircraft during flight by selective adjustment by the operator or pilot from an internal control unit. This involves adjusting the position of the horizontal stabilizer by a stabilizer actuator to accommodate different load distributions within the aircraft and different atmospheric conditions, i.e. wind, rain, snow, etc. In this regard the stabilizer is traditionally pivotally connected to the tail section of the fuselage at a point generally midway along its length. One common trimmable stabilizer actuator consists of a primary ball nut assembly connected with an actuating drive gimbal which is pivotally connected to one end of the horizontal stabilizer structure. The ball nut assembly includes a ball nut housing and a rotatable ballscrew extending axially and usually vertically through the ball nut housing and a drive gimbal housing. The ball nut housing is connected to the drive gimbal housing by a trunnion segment. The ballscrew, in turn, may have its upper end remote from the actuating drive gimbal and may be fixed from translation or axial movement by a connection to a second, support gimbal which is pivotally secured to the tail section. As the ballscrew is rotated, the drive gimbal will be moved in translation relative to it. Thus, as the ballscrew is rotated in one direction, the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is pivoted upward, whereas by rotating the ballscrew in the other direction, the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is pivoted downward. Rotation of the ballscrew is routinely done by a motor and associated gearing which is connected to the second, fixed support gimbal and which is actuated by the operator or pilot by the internal control unit. The connection of the stabilizer actuator to the stabilizer is often located within the fuselage tail section and not directly in the air stream.
The horizontal stabilizer movement, as controlled by the operator, is transmitted by the ballscrew through the actuating drive gimbal by way of the primary ball nut assembly which defines a primary load path. The movement has a load with tensile and compressive components as well as a torque component due to the ballscrew thread lead. Failures of the primary load path such as caused by fracture and separation of the ballscrew shaft or ballscrew flange or failure of a primary load path attachment can result in the complete loss of control of the horizontal stabilizer. However, stabilizer actuators have always been provided with a secondary load path as a protection against the catastrophic failure of the primary path (ball screw or its attachment points). In such structures, the primary load path is normally controllably actuated by the operator and is thus under load while the secondary load path is normally unloaded.